Silence
by kacsnaruhina
Summary: After defeating Pain and being considered a hero by Konoha, Naruto knows he must talk to Hinata. But will he be able to deal with his feelings and thoughts? What does Hinata mean to him? Naruhina and a little Sasusaku.
1. The girl who saved me

Since one of the most beautiful love confessions of mangas is about to be animated, I decided to write this fic. Please, review me.

The chapter is now corrected with the help of Maipigen.

When you see things in _italic_, it means they're someone's thoughts.

When someone talks, the speech will be written between " ".

**Chapter 1: The girl who saved me**

After the celebration, Naruto went to a quiet place in the nearby forest. He was exhausted, after all that had happened during the day.

_I did it, Ero-sennin. _Naruto thought with a proud smile on his face_, your student, Nagato, finally broke free from the cycle of hatred. So did Konan. I wish you could have seen that._

The blond teenager didn't know how to explain his feelings. He was relieved that he'd managed to defeat Pain, happy that the Rinnegan user abandoned his plans of revenge, more than amazed that Kakashi and the others had come back from death. Proud of the fact that fourth Hokage was his father.

Also, the attention the villagers now gave him really surprised the boy. Used to being hated, Naruto had suddenly become Konoha's hero. He had finally received the acceptance he'd wanted his entire life. Everything seemed so strange, so unreal.

But in the midst of all these things on his mind, there was still one thing that Naruto couldn't forget: Hinata.

_She jumped in front of me to protect me. She knew she didn't have any chance against Pain... and she told me... she didn't fear death because..._

The idea scared Naruto. _Hinata said she's loved me for years. She loved me... she loves me. _Naruto couldn't get his mind around that, remembering his unpleasant past_. I was just the kyuubi boy that everybody hated; the looser that everyone laughed at. The annoying kid everybody scolded. How could Hinata love me?_

Naruto remembered the first time he had seen Hinata. He had just been admitted in the ninja academy. He was walking through the halls, since he didn't want to be alone at the ceremony that was being held for the new students.

From that day on, Naruto would live in his own little apartment and receive a monthly payment until he graduated from the academy. He no longer needed to live in Konoha's orphanage.

_It doesn't matter_, Naruto thought, _since nobody in the orphanage liked me anyway. The fact that I'm going to live alone now doesn't change the fact that I've been alone as long as I can remember. At least,_ Naruto told himself, trying to cheer up a bit, _I'll no longer have to deal with those nasty eyes that people send my way every hour of the day._

Naruto really hated those people. He didn't want to hate, but he couldn't avoid it. People were always so unfair and horrible to him that he sometimes wondered why he should care about them at all.

Abruptly, Naruto stopped walking. "Why do I have to go to ninja academy in the first place?" He muttered to himself. "The people of Konoha never did anything for me! I wish I could make the villagers pay for all the misery they-"

Naruto's attention was caught by a little girl sitting alone on a bench. She had dark hair and white eyes. She seemed scared.

"Hey, girl!" Naruto called out to her. "What's the matter?"

The girl looked at Naruto in a shy way, then she said "I... I don't know where my classroom is."

"Is it your first day?"

"Y-yes."

"Why aren't you in the ceremony in the garden?" Naruto asked, curious as to why the little girl was all alone like him.

"The thing is... my father didn't want to come with me." The girl was staring her feet.

Naruto was surprised. "Why wouldn't a parent want to come to his child's ceremony?"

The girl looked even more embarrassed than before when she timidly answered, "My father said that I'm not worth it. He would just waste his time."

"That is horrible!" Naruto was shocked. He always thought having parents was the most wonderful thing in the world. People to love you unconditionally and support you in any occasion. He was envious of people who had parents, but that girl seemed to have a horrible father. He didn't quite know what to think about that.

"He's right, you know?" the girl stated. "I'm weak and graceless. My taijutsu and ninjutsu are ridiculous. Everybody has looked down on me ever since I can remember. I shouldn't have entered the academy. I'm not able to become a ninja. I should just give up on everything."

"If you don't think you're able to be a ninja, then why are you here?" Naruto asked, looking serious.

"You will laugh at me." The girl whispered, still not looking at him.

"I promise I won't."

"Well... I thought that if I could graduate from the ninja academy and become stronger, I would be recognized. I would be respected and prove that I'm worthy of people's attention.

Naruto went pale when he heard that. He had never thought about that possibility. Was it even possible for him to be recognized by people if he became a splendid ninja? Could he prove everybody was wrong? Could he prove that he was worthy of people's attention as well?

"I knew it would sound ridiculous." The girl said in a low voice when Naruto didn't reply immediately.

Naruto frowned. Then, he said "Don't say that! What you said was the most inspiring thing I've ever heard! You know what? I'll join you in this purpose!"

The girl looked at him with surprise showing vividly in her pale eyes. Naruto continued, "That's right! We can become stronger! We can become stronger than any ninja in the whole world! I want to be stronger! Maybe someday, I can even become Hokage."

"I'm sure you would be a wonderful Hokage." the girl said without hesitating. Naruto heard it. It was the nicest thing someone had ever told him. That girl had made him realize that people weren't as horrible as he thought. At least that girl wasn't.

"Thank you." Naruto told her. "I'm sure you would be a great Hokage too."

"I-I don't want to be Hokage... If I could be accepted as the leader of my clan... or at least be recognized by the others then..."

"Clan? You're a member of a clan?" Naruto asked interested, she was the first clan member he'd ever met.

"Yes." The girl answered and then added shyly, "I'm member of the Hyuuga clan. I'm Hyuuga Hinata."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto introduced himself with a beaming smile. "Nice to meet you, Hinata."

Hinata went red suddenly. The sudden wave of red worried Naruto.

"Did I offend you or something?" he asked nervously.

"N-No." Hinata stuttered, "It's just that... I'm not used to people calling me 'Hinata'. They usually call me 'Hinata-sama'."

"Really? Everybody calls me 'Naruto', but it's probably because nobody respects me. But, since you're some kind of noble, does it bother you being called just by your first name?"

"No. I like it, Naruto-kun."

This time it was Naruto who turned red. _Naruto-kun? Nobody has ever talked to me with so much respect._ He really liked that girl.

Naruto suddenly got an idea. "Hey, Hinata, why don't you come with me to search for our classroom?"

"S-sure." Hinata agreed in her shy way.

Naruto came back to the present, standing immobile in the Forest. _I remember now_, he thought, _The very first person to recognize me was Hinata. Then, came Iruka-sensei. It was Hinata who made me want to become Hokage. If it wasn't for her, I would have fallen into the darkness. She said my smile had saved her, but her kindness saved me first. Even not speaking very much; even if she never got too close to me, she always treated me well. She always believed in me. She was like the moon in the darkest night._

Naruto sighed and ran his hand through his spiky locks as he kept thinking deeply_. But I never realized any of it until she did that; until she put herself in danger to protect me. When I thought she had died, I became so desperate... when Katsuyu told me she was alive, I was so relieved. Without realizing it, Hinata filled my heart with good things. She became a very special person... perhaps..."_

Naruto looked back at the village. Everything seemed to be calm now. It was night and the people were sleeping. Since the village was destroyed, everybody was camping.

"Hinata must be sleeping now." He said into the darkness, "it was a tough day for her too. I didn't even get the chance to talk to her... Tomorrow... I'll tell her... Everything...".

Naruto fainted. He slept on the grass until the next morning. The morning when he would have his conversation with Hinata.


	2. The Demon

My comments ;)

I didn't expect so many people would read my fic. Thank you! ^^

This chapter may be a little scary.

**Chapter 2: The Demon**

Naruto saw himself walking in a garden full of beautiful white flowers. He felt himself being filled with peace. In the distance, there was a girl wearing a purple dress. He recognized her immediately.

"HINATA!" Automatically he called her.

Hinata turned her face to look at him. Her face was a little red, but she gave him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Naruto felt something warm inside his heart and it now seemed extremely odd to him that he'd never realized just how gorgeous Hinata was. The pale-eyed girl walked over to him.

"N-Naruto-kun," she said in her shy way of speaking, "are you okay?"

_She almost died and is asking if I'm okay?_ Naruto felt his heart beating faster than he thought was possible. Hinata, despite her shyness, looked in his eyes with kindness.

"I'm doing great" Naruto finally answered. Hinata gave him a wide smile and added with a relieved look in her eyes, "I'm happy that you're okay."

"Hinata... what you did... I wanted to say..." Naruto couldn't finish the sentence. Suddenly a terrible pain was felt in his entire body. He fell to his knees, trembling and screaming. Hinata looked afraid.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong? What's going on? Naruto-kun! NARUTO-KUN!!!"

A red chakra started emanating from Naruto and was forming some tails behind him.

_What is happening? My father sealed the Kyuubi again! WHAT'S the meaning of this?!_ Naruto couldn't understand. Then, a second later, he realized that he was somehow kneeling in front of Kyuubi's opened cage. The demon fox walked toward him, to Naruto's despair.

"NO! This isn't right! How can you be free?" The host asked in terror.

The fox laughed mockingly. "You really thought that that seal could contain me forever? You stupid weak brat!"

"Go back!" Naruto ordered, "I won't allow you to break free! Go back!"

"He he he, you won't allow _me_, heh?" Kyuubi taunted, "yesterday you were about to free me, don't you remember?"

Naruto frowned while Kyuubi added, "when that Hyuuga girl was stabbed you stopped caring about everything else. Without her nothing else mattered. You wanted to destroy everyone. Pain, the villagers and even yourself."

"I didn't want to kill the villagers" Naruto protested, but he didn't sound very convinced, "I was furious at Pain for what he had done to Hinata. I lost control of my Anger".

"Stop lying, kid! You wanted to die and take everyone else with you!"

"I'M NOT A KILLER!" Naruto roared before he lowered his tone and continued, "I tried to protect Konoha! Despite my own feelings I would never..." Naruto's voice was now trembling.

It was true that he hadn't cared about anything after Hinata was stabbed. Even though he didn't understand the reason for it, Naruto had felt as if nothing else in the world had any value, that everything was suddenly meaningless. In that moment, the villagers were nothing but lifeless memories. Why should he care about them if Hinata was dead? His friends, Shikamaru, Sakura and the others... even they weren't important to him at that point in time. Kakashi's death didn't make him feel that way. Not even Ero-sennin's death had made him forget everything and everyone like that. None of them seemed to have the same meaning that Hinata had for Naruto, even if the boy couldn't explain that at the time. But that didn't mean that he wanted to kill everybody in Konoha. It _couldn't_ be true.

"Why would I want to kill the villagers?" Naruto asked the Kyuubi in a deep serious tone.

"You don't know? Or maybe you just don't want to remember how deeply you hate and despise Konoha's villagers."

"This is not true!" Naruto stated, "I've lived my life to prove my value to them! To make them realize my existence!"

"And how do you feel now that they've recognized you?" Kyuubi questioned and Naruto was caught in surprise, answering with an unusual stutter.

"I-I'm great. Happy".

"Stop lying to yourself, you ridiculous brat! Don't you feel any contempt for those people that just have recognized you after you saved their pathetic lives?" The Kyuubi growled, showing off his vicious looking fangs. "They don't see you as a hero. They see you as a monster that can be conveniently used as a weapon to protect them. Deep down, you know it! That's why you despise Konoha's villagers to the point of desiring their deaths."

"I never desired anyone's death" Naruto tried to protest once again; "I'm _not_ like that!"

"'What reason do they have to exist if Hinata doesn't?' 'Why should any of them live if Hinata is dead?' Do you deny that these questions passed through your mind yesterday?"

Naruto didn't speak. The Kyuubi continued talking, now sounding uncharacteristically smug "she was the only person who had seen you and accepted you from the very beginning. And you didn't have to prove anything to her or protect her. She went to help you while everyone else watched you being defeated by Pain."

"I asked them not to interfere."

"They didn't want to risk their necks for you!"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled. Kyuubi laughed as a maniac.

"I'm not saying anything you don't already know."

"I don't want to listen to you anymore! DISAPPEAR FROM MY SIGHT!!!" Naruto screamed in pure hatred. That hatred turned him blind. He couldn't see anything anymore, just an immense red stain before his eyes. But where his eyes failed him, his ears didn't. He could easily hear the fox's wild laughter.

Naruto opened his eyes suddenly. He was lying among the red flowers. _Red? Weren't they white? _The boy was worried. He realized the flowers had been painted in red by some liquid that formed a big puddle on the ground. The same liquid stained his clothes and his hands. It didn't take too much time for Naruto realize that that liquid was blood.

"What is this? Where did this blood come from?" Naruto was in a panic. He jumped to his feet and began searching for Hinata, desperate to find the Hyuuga girl. "HINATA? WHERE ARE YOU?"

A few moments later, he saw something lying on the ground a few meters from where he was standing, as if it had been thrown there. Naruto ran to the point and almost blacked out when he saw what was lying there.

Hinata was covered with her own blood. Naruto took her in his arms quickly; tears were already leaking from his eyes.

"Hinata? Talk to me! I beg you!"

"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata muttered. Naruto could feel the life leaving her body, "why Naruto-kun?... W-why did you...do...this...to...me...?"

Hinata didn't say anymore. She had stopped breathing and she was quickly growing cold. Too cold. Naruto couldn't handle the anguish.

"_You_ killed her, brat!" He heard the Kyuubi's voice, "You killed Hyuuga Hinata!"

Naruto began to tremble without control. He felt his heart tearing. That pain... it was a thing he had never felt before; a thing he couldn't stand. He pressed Hinata against him and screamed.

""

"Naruto, what's the matter?" He heard Sakura's voice. Naruto opened his eyes and noticed that he wasn't in that horrifying garden, but on the grass he had spent the night. To his relief, he saw that Hinata wasn't there either.

"Nightmare? It was... a nightmare" he muttered, still confused. Sakura was looking at him worried.

"You had a nightmare? Are you all righ..." Sakura abruptly stopped talking when Naruto began to cry in front of her without any semblance of control. He didn't say anything.

_Hinata... Hinata... _Naruto's heart still hurt and he stayed like that for several minutes until Sakura convinced him to go to some other place and talk.

_Naruto, what happened to you?_ She was wondering, looking at him with genuine concern in her green eyes.


	3. Cherry blossom and hawk eyes

Another chapter done. I don't own Naruto (Kishimoto-sama is the terrific writer of this amazing story), but I love it to the point to write this fanfic. Thank you for reading my fanfic. *_*

**Chapter 3: Cherry blossom and hawk eyes**

Sakura led Naruto to a tent where she prepared breakfast for him. Unfortunately, Sakura's skills in the kitchen hadn't gotten any better since Naruto's elemental training. Naruto couldn't really identify what was in the bowl she'd just handed him. It was some kind of brown and green paste. He tasted it with caution, but he felt nauseous. He quickly made up an excuse to stop eating.

"I'm not hungry, Sakura-chan." Okay, so the excuse wasn't very good and judging from Sakura's narrowed eyes, she didn't think so either.

Sakura was staring at him with concern.

"You had a difficult battle yesterday; you know, you have to eat to recover your energy. Which is why I just prepared a healthy breakfast for you."

"Seriously I'm not that hungry, maybe another time."

Sakura noticed that Naruto was sitting with his head down, looking blindly down at the tabletop. _What's the matter with him?_

"Come on, Naruto!" Sakura opted for trying to cheer him up, "Konoha's new hero should have a better mood -"

"I'M NOT A HERO, DAMN IT!" Naruto roared. Sakura was in shock over the abrupt reaction.

Naruto quickly calmed down and apologized softly, "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't mean..."

"Yamato-taichou told me about the Kyuubi. Is that what is bothering you?"

Naruto frowned, but didn't reply. Sakura decided to keep talking.

"You lost control of the Kyuubi. Nobody got hurt, so stop thinking about it."

"I can't just stop thinking about it! You have no idea how it is to have a monster like Kyuubi inside you! I _let_ it happen." Naruto added the last part as if he was in physical pain.

Sakura could feel his heartbreak and wanted nothing more than comfort him, like he'd done for her so many times. "That wasn't your fault, Naruto. Why can't you see that?"

"Yes, it was my fault!" Naruto interjected harshly once again, ignoring Sakura's last question. "When Pain hurt Hinata... I... I was so angry and desperate..." Naruto couldn't finish the sentence.

Sakura thought about something for a moment.

"You mean you stopped caring about anything besides Hinata?" She asked seriously.

Naruto mutely looked at her. Sakura continued, "I still don't blame you. If you don't remember, I'm the girl who wanted to leave the family and the life as a shinobi to follow Sasuke. I even asked for your help when I couldn't stop him alone. So don't talk about selfishness and letting the emotions take control over you to me."

Naruto stayed silent for five seconds. It was obvious that Sakura was still suffering about everything with Sasuke. He was suffering too, of course, but Sakura's pain was as big or worse in some aspects. She blamed herself for not stopping Sasuke. She blamed herself for asking him to stop Sasuke, which subsequently landed Naruto in the hospital after their battle at the Valley of the End. And even after years of training, Sakura still couldn't smile as she used to.

"Sakura-chan, when did you realize you loved Sasuke?" Naruto asked in low voice, looking completely serious. Sakura went pale, biting her lips as the memories flooded her mind.

"Well, it all started one afternoon, one day after I entered the Ninja Academy."

**Flash-back**

"Ugly Sakura, big-forehead Sakura!" Some children were singing in a tauting way. Sakura was crying in the middle of a circle made by the kids. A boy with brown hair took her backpack and opened it, letting her lunchbox fall on the grass.

"Stop it, please." The little girl pleaded among sobs.

"Shut up, you stupid girl with a giant forehead!" A girl with blue hair said evilly. She opened Sakura's lunchbox, took the rice in her hands and threw it against Sakura's face, which only made her cry more. The children laughed at her, obviously enjoying the effect they had on her and began pulling her by the hair when a shuriken was suddenly thrown at them, landing exceedingly close to Sakura's tormentors. They looked for the person who did that and found a boy with black hair and black eyes staring at them.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" The boy with brown hair questioned.

"Get out of here, you garbage!" The black-haired boy ordered.

The brown-haired one tried to attack the other, but was easily defeated. Everybody left the place quickly after that, afraid, leaving Sakura and her savior.

"Are you all right?" He asked. Sakura was unable to answer because of the sobs still wrecking her small body. The boy took a look at the rice on the ground. He opened his own backpack and pulled out his lunchbox.

"I can share my lunch with you. My mom always makes too much."

"Why did you help me?" She asked in low voice.

"Why wouldn't I? You were being bullied by those stupid lowlives."

"But nobody has ever helped me before. No one likes me because my forehead is too big and I'm ugly and stupid!"

The boy slowly approached her and gently lifted the hair that covered her forehead.

"It's just a forehead," he said, "It's stupid to even care about such a thing. And I don't see anything unusual with your face."

Sakura looked at him when he said that. The boy gave her a small smile and added, "But I think your face would be better if you stopped crying. What's your name?"

"I'm Haruno Sakura."

" It means cherry blossom of the spring, right?"

"Y-yes."

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

"Nice to meet you, Sasuke-kun." Sakura greeted politely, her heart giving a strange lurch in her chest when Sasuke kept looking calmly at her. From that day on, Sasuke and Sakura started having lunch together. The Uchiha boy said it was one way for Sakura to avoid being taunted by the other kids again. They used to go to some wood together, where Sasuke practiced with his shuriken and Sakura did her homework. After a short while, they started doing their homework together and Sakura usually finished it first.

"You're pretty good at this, Sakura." Sasuke commented one day.

"But you're better with the ninjutsu and taijutsu." She replied with a small blush at the praise.

"Perhaps, but I need to practice more to be able to compete with my big brother Itachi. He's amazing." Sasuke's face lit up at the mention of his brother.

"I'm sure you can do it, Sasuke-kun." Sakura gave him a large smile. Her face was really more beautiful like that.

Practicing and chatting, Sasuke lost track of time. It was already night when he remembered he should be at home. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay, Sakura?"

"Yes. I'll wait for you here."

However, Sasuke didn't return the next day. Nor the day after that. Two weeks later, Sakura found him alone on a bench.

"Sasuke-kun! I was worried about you!"

Sasuke didn't give her any attention. He had dead eyes and was facing the ground.

"Did something happen?" She was growing worried. Sasuke still didn't respond.

"Aren't you going to train today?" Sakura tried to get her friend to open up to her, she could easily see that something was completely wrong. "You know, to be able to compete with your brother -"

When Sasuke heard the word "brother", he jumped from the bench and gave Sakura a furious look, that just about scared her to death.

"Don't ever talk about him again, you stupid girl!" He spoke in a dark way and left without looking back. Sakura couldn't understand what had happened. _Does he hate me? He hates me like everybody else? He even called me stupid. What have I done wrong?_

Sometime after that, Sakura met Ino and learned how to value herself. She thought that if she could become more confident, beautiful and strong, she could make Sasuke like her again. It was around that time she finally understood what she felt about him.

**End of flash-back**

"I had no idea about what had happened to Sasuke-kun's clan. I was trying to change, but I think I messed up things and became annoying. In the end, I wasn't able to make Sasuke-kun like me. I wasn't even able to stop him the night he left... or to stop him when we found him with Orochimaru..." Sakura trailed off, not really willing to revisit those memories.

"So you never realized his feelings, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, looking at her with a mixture of sympathy and confusion.

Sakura gave him a surprised look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't confirm that he loved you back, but you meant something to him. When Gaara trapped you during Orochimaru's attack, Sasuke asked me to save you. And you know he's not the kind of person who asks for things. When he left you unconscious, you told me he had put you on a bench. When I fought him, he left me almost dead, under the rain and on the cold ground. So, I think you were really important to him. And, if he never told you anything... well, it's because he's a little idiotic and you'll have to teach him a lesson when we bring him back." Naruto said, smiling and looking a bit more like himself again.

Sakura smiled too. She remembered the last thing Sasuke had told her that night. _Sakura, thank you_. She wasn't sure what he was thanking her for, but she felt in that moment a thing she hadn't felt in years; she felt him close to her, like he used to be when they were kids. She sighed deeply, lost in her thoughts.

Naruto was thinking too. _Girls can't understand our feelings if we aren't clear about them. What if Hinata is suffering now, like Sakura-chan? I became one with the Kyuubi and almost murdered her. Is she afraid of me now? Is she worried? I don't want to do to her what Sasuke did to Sakura-chan._

Finally Naruto decided that he'd been spending way too much time just thinking about things and got to his feet, jerking Sakura out of her thoughts. "Sakura-chan, I'm leaving now. I have an important thing to do. Thank you for the talk." Naruto said.

Sakura didn't say anything in return, she just kept staring the back of the blond boy as he walked by her. _Thank you too, Naruto._

Far from Konoha and his old teammates, Sasuke was moving with his new team toward Konoha. Karin was close to him, trying to start a conversation:

"Hey, Sasuke! After everything ends, we could go to some place to relax. I heard about a place full of cherry trees..."

Sasuke stopped moving suddenly. He was somehow managing to get an even more serious look on his face.

"Sakura...?" Karin heard him mutter.

"Yes! Sakura, cherry blossom!" Karin repeated eagerly, but then she noticed Sasuke's face. _What is he thinking? Doens't he like cherry blossom? If he doesn't, I need to correct what I said."_

"Not that I wanted to see the cherry blossoms or anything like that! No way! It's probably the most ridiculous and pathetic flower that exists! Seriously, I don't understand how someone can like a useless thing like a cherry blossom!"

Sasuke sent her a furious look and said, "Shut up! Don't talk as if you could understand anything about Sakura!"

Juugo, Suigetsu and Karin were shocked with the reaction from their usually stoic leader. Sasuke pretended he didn't notice and kept moving forward. As he ran, some memories appeared in his mind.

**Flash-back**

The night he left Konoha, Sasuke was looking down at Sakura, sleeping on the bench. Without realizing, he grabbed her hand tightly. _I know you meant what you said. I know you really love me and would even throw your life away for me. You proved it in the Forest of Death and against Gaara. Little by little, you filled my heart... and I know that, if I had looked into your eyes when you were saying those things, there was a chance I would have chosen to stay. But I can't stay with you. I can't be happy and live with you and the others and just forget about Itachi. I hate to see you crying. I always hated it, since that day when I shared my lunch with you. I know you'll cry when you wake up. I know you'll cry for a long time. But I hope, someday, you stop crying. I hope you can find happiness and never cry again. Try to forget me, because I'll do my best to forget you. Otherwise, I can't fulfill my goal._

**End of flash-back**

WhileSasuke was silent, lost in his memories, Suigetsu approached Karin. "I don't think Sasuke would go on a date with you. Give up."

"Shut up, Suigetsu! I just need to find out what he likes." Karin said with ferocity.

"If it was me, I'd go with you to see the cherry trees, even if I didn't like them."

Karin looked at Suigetsu. She was touched by those words, somehow. Suigetsu smiled at her and continued, "But I'd prefer to share a tasty watermelon with you, if you want to know."

"You idiot! Why would someone eat watermelon on a date?"

Suigetsu laughed. Karin didn't talk to him again that day.

Meanwhile back in Konoha, Naruto was looking for Hinata around the village, but instead he saw someone he didn't expect. A man, followed by a young girl, headed to a tent, in front of which a Hyuuga man was standing.

"Hiashi-sama! Hanabi-sama! You're back!" He greeted the clan leader.

"Yes. I heard about what happened here. Where's my oldest daughter?"

"Hinata-sama is resting inside. She has gone through too much..." The man was in the midst of saying, but Hiashi and Hanabi entered the tent without permission. The other Hyuuga followed them without another word.

Naruto was suddenly anxious on behalf of Hinata, momentarily forgetting his own worry after the nightmare. _What is he going to talk to Hinata about? Perhaps, I should get closer and spy on them._


	4. Strength

**Chapter 4: Strength**

Naruto approached the tent and tried to hear the conversation from the outside.

Inside, Hiashi, Hanabi and the Hyuuga man reached Hinata's bed. Hinata had been sleeping for a long while, but she was awoken by the sound of the approaching steps. When she opened her eyes, her father was sitting in a chair in front of her.

Hiashi turned his head to Hanabi and the other Hyuuga, who were standing silently behind him, and ordered, "I want to talk to her privately. Leave us."

The others obeyed and left. They found Naruto outside just in front of the tent.

"Naruto-kun! What are you doing here?" The Hyuuga man asked nicely. To his surprise it seemed as though Naruto was nervous, the blond even gulped when he started speaking.

"W-wait, it's not what it looks like! I wasn't spying on her, I'm not a pervert or anything like that."

"You would be just like a pervert if you were trying to see my sister in there while she was sleeping defenselessly." Hanabi stated, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

Naruto sighed in relief, apparently the danger was over. However, his relief was broken when the little girl added, "Just by trying to listen in on her conversations, you're nothing more than a stalker."

Naruto made a depressed face. _This is almost as bad as being a pervert. Maybe worse. _

The boy heard whispers coming from inside the tent, so he forgot about the others and paid more attention to the conversation.

Hiashi was staring at his daughter with serious and severe eyes. Hinata sustained the look, but in a far more gentle way. "Father, weren't you, Hanabi and other members of the clan on a special mission?"

"I received an urgent letter from the men I left in Konoha explaining what had happened. I let the people I trusted the most behind to finish the mission and came back with Hanabi."

"I see," Hinata whispered, with a sad, but somehow resigned expression, "Konoha was in trouble so you came back as soon as you could."

Hiashi examined the girl for some seconds before answering with a solemn tone, "I didn't come back because of Konoha's problems."

Hinata went pale when she heard that_. No, it can't be!_ She tried to repel such thoughts from her mind. It was ridiculous to even consider the possibility of her father having left a mission and returned to the village because of _her_.

"Hinata, did you really try to fight the Akatsuki's leader?"

Hinata was surprised by such a direct question and even more surprised by the face her father had. _It's as if he's worried about me. But why would he worry about someone like me? Haven't he told me so many times that I wasn't worthy of the name Hyuuga? That I wasn't worthy of his time?_

"Yes, Father," Hinata answered, when the silence was beginning to get awkward, "I tried to fight Pain, the leader of Akatsuki."

Hiashi's eyes were wide. Hinata could swear she had seen a proud smile forming in his face for two seconds. Then, she convinced herself it was probably just her imagination playing tricks on her.

"Why did you do such a reckless thing, Hinata? You actually thought you could beat him?"

"Of course not, Father," Hinata answered with a firm voice, "I knew since the beginning that, if I fought that man, I would die for sure."

Hiashi's face paled a few shades hearing that blunt statement from his normally so timid daughter. _Hinata really...?_

"Weren't you scared? Why didn't you run away from that man? You must have known you didn't stand a chance."

Hinata smiled in a serene way and answered, "I couldn't be scared or run away. I had to fight, even if it would be useless."

"Why?" Hiashi asked almost in a whisper and watched breathlessly as Hinata replied without hesitation.

"Because I didn't want Naruto-kun to die. I'd give my life thousands of times to avoid it."

When the silently listening Naruto heard that, he went deadly pale and almost fell to his knees. _Thousands of times? Does Hinata care so little about her own well-being? Or does she really love me that much?_ The shaken boy walked away from that place quickly, with a frightened expression on his face. He felt pain in his chest. The air was leaving his lungs.

The two Hyuugas didn't understand what had gotten into Naruto, they watched him walk away with frowns of concern on their faces.

Naruto didn't notice, too caught up in his thoughts. _Thousands of times... she would die for someone like me thousands of times over..._

In the meantime, Hiashi was looking down at his daughter with an enigmatic expression etched into his face. "Hinata, you really love Uzumaki Naruto that much?"

Hinata didn't understand what her father was getting at. What was the point of stating the obvious? None the less, she answered without stuttering once, secure in her answer. "Yes, I love Naruto-kun more than anything."

"Why?" Hiashi asked in a serious tone

Hinata didn't feel intimidated. "Naruto-kun was the first person that recognized me. The first person that believed I could change and become stronger. I was so pessimistic, so unsure of myself. You and everyone else made me believe that I was weak and worthless; that I was a burden and a shame to the Hyuuga name. No matter how hard I trained, your opinion about me never changed. I could easily have taken the wrong path. I could have accepted it and become an unhappy person forever. But, when I met Naruto-kun, everything changed."

Hiashi was listening with rapt attention, without interrupting. Hinata continued, looking just as serious as her father, "Naruto-kun had suffered a lot more than me, but he never gave up. And he never let me give up either. Every time he smiled, every time he stated that he would surpass everybody and become a great Hokage, even when people laughed at him or treated him badly, he said 'don't underestimate me!' And, when he did that, I felt my heart being filled with hope and courage. When nobody saw me, when nobody believed in me, Naruto-kun gave me the strength to go on. Thanks to him, my heart is a lot stronger now."

After Hinata finished giving her reasons for loving Naruto, Hiashi was silently contemplating everything. _Hinata, when have you become this person? How haven't I ever noticed what you were turning into? A person who fights without fear and loves without hesitation. Right now, you really remind me of your mother... I miss her._

"Having a strong heart didn't help you against Pain, did it?" Hiashi suddenly stated with a severe expression, "Akatsuki is not defeated yet! There will be stronger enemies who will come after Naruto. Next time, you might not have the luck to be healed by a ninja doctor. Next time you might not be able to stop Naruto from being taken away. Do you understand this, Hinata? If you insist on fighting for Naruto's sake, you'll end up dead!"

Hinata thought about her father's words for a while. Then, she smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do about it. If my choices are between dying or letting Naruto-kun be killed without doing anything, I'll _always_ choose the first alternative."

Hiashi stood up abruptly. He was looking at his daughter and even with her almost all seeing eyes, Hinata couldn't decipher what he was thinking. His eyes showed a mixture of many conflicted feelings.

Finally he seemed to reach a decision, "You're an idiot, Hyuuga Hinata!" The man stated, but then quickly added, "But I've never felt so much pride in being your father."

Hinata's eyes were widened in disbelief. Was this really happening?

Hiashi gave her a nervous smile and spoke again, this time his voice was oddly reminiscent of the timid tone Hinata usually used, "I always thought you were weak and a coward. But you have a strength that few people in this world have. And this strength is more admirable than any taijutsu or ninjutsu that you could ever hope to learn."

"Father..." Hinata didn't know what to say. Her eyes, for the first time during the conversation, were filled with tears.

Hiashi put his hand over her head gently, "However, this strength of yours is not enough to stop Akatsuki or protect Naruto." Hiashi paused for a long second, before speaking again with a much more stern tone of voice, "Which is why I've decided that I'm going to give you the hardest training any person in our clan has ever had the misfortune of living through."

Hinata was staring at her father with happiness and incredulity, barely taking in her father's words as he kept talking. "So you, Hinata, will have a body as strong as your heart." She heard him finish.

Hinata didn't worry about the upcoming hardship; she simply beamed in a Naruto like fashion and said without the least bit of hesitation. "Yes, thank you, my father."

In the interim, Naruto was still walking in silence, thinking seriously to himself. _What am I supposed to do now?_


	5. Fear and decisions

**Chapter 5: Fear and decisions**

Naruto lay on the grass in a deserted place after he got away from Hinata's tent. The words of the Hyuuga girl were tormenting him. _Thousands of times_. His mind automatically tortured the boy with visions of Hinata interfering in other dangerous fights. He knew that Akatsuki wouldn't give up on chasing him. Tobi worried Naruto the most. _That guy was the person behind the attack of the Kyuubi, sixteen years ago. He's plotting something big and dangerous. A fight against him would be difficult. If I was in a bad situation... if I was about to be captured... Hinata would fight that guy and he wouldn't take easy on her. _

The pain Naruto was feeling in the chest increased when he thought about that. _And there is still Sasuke. He left me in that state when we fought at the Valley of the End. Besides, he wasn't exactly friendly when we found him with Orochimaru, either. Wait, what am I thinking? I have failed the other times, but it doesn't mean I'll fail at bringing Sasuke back again! I've become stronger, damn it! I even defeated Pain, leader of Akatsuki! Despite this, I don't believe Sasuke would try to kill Hinata, who never did anything against him. I don't want to believe that._

Naruto sighed and covered his eyes with his right arm. For him, he stayed like that for what felt like centuries. The more he thought about the situation, the worst he felt. He was pulled out of his state by a rude and familiar voice.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto removed the arm from above his eyes and saw Kiba and Akamaru leaning over him. He also realized it was becoming dark. _Seriously, for how long have I been here? _The blond boy sat up quickly.

"I was just lying here." Naruto explained in a joyless tone of voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I always come to this place to do some exercise with Akamaru." Kiba informed, "We must be prepared. Enemies as strong as that Pain guy might show up and we probably will not be as lucky next time. People may die if we don't become stronger."

Kiba was lowering his voice without noticing. He hadn't recovered completely from the invasion. Even if he had no physical injuries anymore, his heart felt heavy. That feeling got worse when he heard that Hinata had gotten hurt trying to defend Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba called the other. He realized that Naruto had a deeply concerned face and was staring at some point at the distance. Kiba had to call him again in order to make Naruto pay attention on him.

"What, Kiba?"

"Have you talked to Hinata already?"

Naruto's face went paler than a piece of paper. He looked down. That surprised Kiba immensely.

"Oh, come on, Naruto!" He said that as if he was scolding the blond boy, "Hinata jumped in front of Pain to save you and you haven't talked to her yet? Do you respect her so little to the point of not thanking what she did? She almost died for you!"

"I KNOW THAT!" Naruto roared, getting on his feet and looking to Kiba with ferocity. After that, Naruto turned his back to the other, staying at the same spot. "I always respected Hinata, you idiot!" He said more calmly, "I know I could have died if she didn't show up... and that Hinata could have been..."

For some reason, Naruto didn't want to say the words _Hinata_ and _killed_ in the same sentence. He began to sob and covered his eyes with his right hand. He didn't want to cry in front of Kiba, but the wave of feelings was stronger than him. Kiba felt sorry for Naruto.

"If you feel like this, why don't you go talk to her, Naruto?"

"I can't talk to her." Naruto stated.

"What the hell do you mean?" Kiba was getting angry. Naruto didn't get intimidated by him.

"Hinata... loves me." Naruto whispered. It was somehow painful for him to say that. Kiba didn't reply anything, just kept staring at Naruto's back. Naruto decided to let out what was tormenting him.

"When Hinata did that, she told me she wasn't afraid of dying because she loved me. When I thought she had died, I felt so angry and scared. It was the first time I felt like that. And I became so glad when I heard she was okay. I wanted to talk to her. Tell her how I feel. Thank her. But, when I went to her tent, I heard Hinata saying that she would die thousands of times for me. That idea scared me more than anything in the world, so I left that place before seeing her. I didn't know what I should have done. I don't want Hinata to be sad. But, what would happen if I told her how much I care about her and some days later someone dangerous attacked the village? What if I couldn't defeat this someone and found myself in danger and Hinata appeared to protect me again? What if Hinata... Hinata got kil..."

Naruto began to sob again, without control. Kiba thought about what the other had said for a while. Then, he decided to talk:

"Let me see if I got this right. You don't want to talk to Hinata because you don't want her to risk herself again for you, is it right?"

"Pretty much." Naruto said in low voice.

"You are dumber than I thought, Naruto."

Naruto didn't understand why Kiba said that, but the Inuzuka young man explained:

"Do you seriously believe Hinata would give up on her love towards you just because you didn't thank her? Even if you told Hinata you hated her and wanted her dead, she wouldn't stop loving you, idiot! Love cannot be erased so easily from someone's heart."

"How can you be so sure of that, Kiba?"

Kiba didn't say a single word. Naruto turned to face the other and saw Kiba staring at the ground. The black-haired boy resolved to confess a thing he had hidden from everybody for years.

"It would have been a lot simpler for me if I could erase love. I fell in love with a girl who loved someone else."

"Really?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Yes. I always found her cute... and I had the idiotic fantasy that I could be the charming prince who would protect her from everything. So, someday, she would fall in love for me and we would be happy together, raising dogs."

Naruto tried his best to not laugh when Kiba said 'raising dogs.' _Is it this guy's idea of romance?_

Kiba continued, "However, it didn't take too much time for me to realize that she only saw me as a friend. She was always talking about another guy. A stupid guy that wasn't even able to be approved in the academy's tests without having to make them more than once. But while everybody saw him as a dumb child who liked to yell and be the center of the attentions, she saw him as someone admirable who never gave up. And this idiotic guy gave her the courage to never give up, either. What, consequently, put her in danger more than once."

Naruto was listening to everything in sorrow. When Kiba paused, he questioned, "Kiba, why don't you tell her what you feel? Why don't you fight for her and make her forget the idiotic guy responsible for putting her in danger?"

"Because I love her." Kiba whispered.

"I don't get it."

"Since the beginning I tried to protect her from everything. If it was for me, she would have stayed as a dependent weak and scared girl for the rest of her life. But while I was doing that, the idiot made her believe in herself. She began to be more confident and brave. She was becoming someone she liked. She wasn't unhappy anymore... she was changing into a magnificent woman. And I had nothing to do with it. I realized I would never be able to do that to her. The only way she would be happy was with that idiot."

"But she would be safer with you." Naruto commented with resignation. Kiba turned to him and gave him a penetrating look.

"Naruto, what is more important? Safety or happiness?"

Naruto bit his lips. Kiba began to walk away.

"Think about it. Later, you'll have to give an answer, so don't leave this place."

Naruto sit on the grass. _Safety or happiness? What is more important? What is better for Hinata?_

Kiba went to Hinata's tent. To his shock, the field around it was filled with holes and the trees had been knocked down. Hinata and her father were resting on the grass. They both were breathless, sweaty and dirty. Hinata had some bruises on her arms, but there was a smile on her face.

"We'll continue tomorrow, okay?" Hinata heard her father saying, "Go take a shower and change your clothes."

"Yes, thank you, Father."

When Hinata was left alone, Kiba approached her. Even in that state, she seemed extremely gorgeous for him.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata greeted gently, "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you. What the hell were you and your father doing? This place is destroyed!"

"Oh! My father was training me." Hinata said with a large smile, "I can feel I'm getting stronger."

Kiba looked down for some seconds. Hinata saw he was clenching his fists and shaking.

"Kiba-kun, is there something wrong?" Hinata asked worried. Kiba forced a smile to her.

"Wrong? Of course not!" He laughed loudly. After two seconds he put a more serious face and said, "I've seen Naruto."

Hinata paled a little. "Is he okay, Kiba-kun?"

"Kind of." Kiba replied, "Hinata, if you're concerned, why don't you go talk to him?"

Hinata paled more. Kiba wasn't understanding.

"What's the problem, Hinata?"

"I don't want to talk to him."

"What? Don't tell me it's because he didn't come to thank you!"

"Of course not!" Hinata replied a little offended, "Naruto-kun has no obligation to thank me!"

"So, why don't you want to talk to him?"

Hinata was looking to Kiba with sad eyes.

"I told Naruto-kun I loved him."

"Really?" Kiba questioned surprised. _Could this mean Naruto only realized she loved him because she had told so? How stupid is that guy?_

"I thought I was going to die, so I didn't think about Naruto-kun's feelings." Hinata muttered.

"He wants to talk to you. He would already have talked if his stupidity was not so big."

"I don't want that!" Hinata almost yelled.

"Why not?"

"Because... I don't want Naruto-kun to feel obliged to stay with me." Hinata confessed. Kiba's eyes were wide.

"Hinata, Naruto-"

"He's a gentle and sweet person. Naruto-kun doesn't like to make people sad. I'm afraid he lies to me just to make me feel happy. I don't want Naruto-kun to sacrifice himself."

Kiba studied the Hyuuga girl for a while. _She's suffering. I hate to see her like this. I have to do something._

"Don't be stupid, Hinata!" Kiba scolded her, to Hinata's surprise, "Do you really think Naruto would play with your feelings like that?"

"Kiba-kun..."

"Besides, why are so sure that he doesn't like you? Seriously! He released the Kyuubi after you got stabbed! He worries about you a lot! Right now, he's suffering because he wants to tell you what he feels, but he doesn't know how."

"Naruto-kun is suffering because of me?" Hinata's voice sounded deeply sad, making Kiba feel his heart heavy.

"Yes, just like you are suffering for him now." Kiba spoke, putting both hands on Hinata's shoulders, "While you two keep this silence, you'll only get hurt and hurt the other. Naruto is a stupid and annoying guy, but he doesn't deserve that. You don't deserve it either, Hinata. So, please, just go talk to him."

Hinata was touched by her friend's words. "Kiba-kun, why are you being so good to me?"

Kiba looked into her eyes and answered, "Because I care a lot about you, Hinata. And I want you to be happy."

Hinata hugged Kiba, saying _thanks._ Kiba blushed hard.

"Naruto is at the field Akamaru and I always go to do exercise."

"Okay, I'll go there right away!" Hinata was leaving.

"Hinata, wait!" Kiba called her back.

"What?" She questioned.

"Ah... you should take a bath and change your clothes before you go. You know how he is! He'll think you were attacked again."

Hinata smiled embarrassed. "You're right. Thank you, Kiba-kun."

"You're welcome." Kiba replied, seeing Hinata going to her tent. He left as soon as she entered it. _Naruto, take care of her_.

Naruto was lying on the grass, looking to the full moon. The color of the moon was truly beautiful and made him remember of Hinata's eyes. Suddenly, Naruto heard steps of someone approaching by behind. He assumed it was Kiba.

"So you came back, huh?" Naruto said, turning around. But, instead of Kiba, he saw Hinata standing on the grass, under the light of the moon. She was wearing a simple white dress and a purple coat over it, to hide the bruises on her arms. Naruto felt he had never seen something as beautiful in his entire life.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun? Your face is all red, don't tell me you got a fever." Hinata asked concerned.

"Fe-fever? No! I'm not sick, don't worry about it!" Naruto said, nervous. Hinata gave him a serious, but kind, smile.

"Naruto-kun. I think we should talk."

Naruto nodded with his head. "You're right, Hinata. There's something important you must know."

**Thanks for the reviews. Next time, the final chapter of Silence!**


	6. Broken silence

**The final of my first Naruto fanfic. I never expected so many people would like this story. I'm truly happy for it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.**

**Chapter 6: Broken silence**

Naruto kept looking at Hinata from the point he was, unable to move. The reason behind that was still unknown to him.

Hinata was starting to feel anxious because of the usually animated boy's unnatural stillness. Finally, she decided to speak. "If you're not feeling like talking, Naruto-kun, we can wait for another time."

"Absolutely not!" Naruto stated, sounding more like his usual self. "Don't worry about me now! I don't have the right to keep you waiting for an answer any longer!"

"You don't owe me anything, Naruto-kun, really." Hinata said in a firm tone, "I did what I did because of my own selfishness. I just couldn't leave you alone... even knowing that you wanted to be."

Without realizing, Hinata lowered her head. "It must have been difficult for you. In a situation like that, some random girl jumping in front of you and saying those things... I can't even imagine what was going through your mind. I remember you yelling. You were telling me to leave and that I wasn't any kind of match for Pain. You wanted to protect everybody, but I didn't respect your wish, which made you suffer. I'm sorry."

"Are you sorry for having tried to save me?" Naruto questioned almost in a whisper.

Still without looking directly at him, Hinata clenched her fists. Naruto could tell she hadn't done that for fear or anything similar. It was clearly anger that Hinata was feeling now.

"I knew I couldn't defeat Pain, but I thought I could at least gain time. I put everything I had in that attack. I just wanted to knock Pain down for a few seconds, so I could free you. Then, I wanted him to keep fighting me, to give you time to escape. But I wasn't able to do that. My best efforts were meaningless and I failed in protecting you. I'm so sorry for my weakness, Naruto-kun." Hinata was trembling.

Naruto saw tears falling on the grass, from Hinata's face. The boy felt as if his heart was being crushed. The sight of the shaking girl's tears finally managed to get him to move. He ran to her and held Hinata's face gently, but firmly, with his hands, making the Hyuuga girl see his eyes.

Naruto was giving her an intense look.

"Enough with this nonsense, Hinata." Naruto's hands shook a little. His intense look was slowly turning into a more hesitating one as he continued softly. "I can't stand to hear you put yourself down anymore. I can't see you crying either, it's... I can't take it. I beg you, stop it."

Hinata was astonished. Naruto took a shaking breath and let go of her. But they were still very close to each other.

"How could you be so irresponsible, Hinata? You have no idea how much despair I felt when I saw you showing up like that! I was trapped. I couldn't do anything but yell. I yelled at you to run away from there... and then I yelled to Pain to not harm you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you. I know you would be worried if someone from the village did that. I didn't want to do that to you, but I had to choose."

"Choose?" Naruto asked without breathing. Hinata nodded with her head.

"I had to decide what was more important: your life or your happiness."

Naruto's eyes got wide in shock. Hinata kept talking.

"The weird thing is that I knew what was more important already. I wanted you to be happy, Naruto-kun. I _always_ wanted that. So I never bothered you with my problems. I never let you see me crying. I never gave you reasons to get too close to me. I felt that if that happened, I'd just become a burden to you. Just like I was for my team-maters, my sensei and my family. Like I was, I would just be in the way of your happiness because I know that, despite your apparent rudeness, you care too much about people. So I promised myself I'd become someone you wouldn't need to protect or worry about. I'd be someone worthy of walking by your side. I always cared a lot about your happiness, but I couldn't do it that time." Hinata trembled even more, "Even knowing you would get hurt... I wasn't able to abandon you... because if you died, Naruto-kun... I-I just wouldn't be able to stand the pain. I would rather die trying to protect you than suffering because of your death. That's why I was being selfish."

Naruto stayed uncharacteristically silent, processing what he had heard. After few minutes, he talked.

"You said you knew I'd be hurt by seeing someone dying in front of me, _for me_. You said I cared too much about people and you even called yourself 'random,' Hinata," for the first time, Naruto actually seemed a bit angry as his eyes locked with Hinata's, "do you really think you were ever 'random' to me?"

Hinata looked at Naruto with a bit of surprise. The boy continued without pause, "You probably haven't realized this, but you were the first person that I ever liked."

This time, Hinata was very surprised and couldn't help but protest at the sentece. "But, Naruto-kun, What about Iruka-sensei? And Sakura-san?"

"You don't remember the day we entered the academy?" Naruto gave a sad ghost of his usual beaming smile, "You were the first person I got to know in that place. And I was truly amazed by knowing you."

"Why?" Hinata couldn't understand. "I was nothing! Just a pathetic-"

"You told me that you wanted to be recognized! That you wanted to be stronger, so your family would accept you and you would be worthy of becoming the leader of the clan!" Naruto almost roared. Hinata was speechless. _Naruto-kun truly remembers this all?_

Naruto put his right hand over his heart, as if he was trying to calm himself. "You made me believe I could change the way people used to see me. Don't you remember? You even told me I would be a great Hokage!" Naruto was laughing nervously. Some tears were being formed in his eyes and he was shaking a little bit. "Everybody always despised me. I hated people. I could have become a horrible person. I could have taken the wrong path, but you showed me the right one. You believed in me and made me believe in myself. Your words saved me, Hinata, before anyone else's did. I met Iruka-sensei and the others later, by the time I fell in love with Sakura-chan... Although I wouldn't call the feeling I had 'love' anymore. She never made me feel like this."

Hinata couldn't believe in what Naruto had just said. Naruto frowned in concentration as he continued to speak.

"I found Sakura-chan cute, but she wasn't sweet with me. Well, she's not like that anymore, but that's not the point. I never showed her my true self. By that time, she never encouraged me in anything. I was just a loser for everybody. But you... it was different with you. We didn't have long conversations, but every word you gave me made my heart feel warmer. I thought you were weird because you were different from everybody. I hadn't realized I actually liked your weirdness. I never thought of you as something more than a distant friend. In fact, I kept seeing you that way until recently. However, I'm not sure anymore if this was my true feeling at all."

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata didn't know what to say. Naruto's words were becoming more intense.

"Back when we were kids at the Chunin exam, I wouldn't have cared about seeing the answers of the written text if it had been another person who had offered. I didn't want to cause you problems. I wouldn't have been so mad at Neji for beating you like that... I wouldn't have encouraged you so much and I wouldn't have sworn I'd defeat Neji if you were you just a distant friend. And I wouldn't have confessed to a 'distant friend' that I acted like a strong person because, deep down, I was frustrated."

"I remember that day." Hinata said suddenly. "I told you that you were admirable because you never gave up after your failures... and that you should be proud of that."

"Yeah. And I told you I liked people like you. I was so stupid. I couldn't even classify my feelings properly. How could I have ever thought you were just a distant friend? I'm not such a noble person, Hinata. I wouldn't be so much desperate if it was just a distant friend who had been stabbed before my eyes. I definitely wouldn't have let Kyuubi take control of me... or wished everything went to Hell... over a distant friend's death. Every time I remember that, I feel like crying. Just by imagining you in danger, it makes me want to forget the whole world and give my best to protect you, even if it costs my life. That's... that's how you feel about me, isn't it?"

Hinata smiled softly when she gave her answer to Naruto. "Yes, Naruto-kun."

Naruto beamed with some of his old self shining through, "So it's a sure thing now." Then, getting serious, he looked into Hinata's eyes, touching her face with delicacy, and added, "I really love you, Hinata."

The time seemed to pass slowly. Their heads were approaching each other. They were getting too close to each other. When their faces were almost touching, Naruto questioned, "Things are not going to be easy. I have a lot to do. Would you really stay by my side despite all this?"

The blond boy was still worried about Sasuke and Akatsuki, but he felt now that things would be easier if he had Hinata with him. The fear he once felt had vanished.

"I'll be always by your side." Hinata promised. "I'll help you whenever you need my help."

Naruto didn't know if he should smile or cry. Deciding to do what he did best, Naruto acted on instinct and kissed Hinata with passion. The moment when their lips found each other felt as if time had frozen. Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata wished that the moment would last forever.

**Once again, thank you for everybody who read and reviewed Silence, and also, a special thanks to my Beta readers. And thanks to Kishimoto too, who created such a perfect couple (yeah, Kishimoto, I'm still waiting for the Naruhina conversation).**


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